David Cameron has once again reiterated his concerns over the eurozone,
insisting “tighter fiscal discipline” to restore market confidence is a must.

Speaking ahead of a further key European summit on Thursday, the Prime Minister said single market leaders had to focus on preventing unmanageable debt from creating a second global credit crunch.

He argued that a change in the treaty governing all 27 members of the European Union was the most “comprehensive” method of ensuring countries stuck to the rules on debt.

And he restated his belief in greater competitiveness within the zone, while promising to do everything possible to protect Britain’s own interests.

Writing in The Times he said: “Fundamentally, the problem with the eurozone is a problem of competitiveness, with countries that have large trade deficits coexisting with Germany, which has a huge trade surplus.

“These imbalances have to be addressed. Without this there will be no lasting solution.”

Mr Cameron said that Britain had put forward and consistently argued for bold structural-reform programmes and a comprehensive growth plan for Europe.

He reminded member states of the dire interest on debt already faced by Greece and again called for the need for “properly capitalised banks”.

He added: “In a world where the interest rates on Greek debt are 33 per cent, on Spanish debt 5 per cent and on Italian debt 6 per cent, we need to see the full implementation of all the elements that the UK has been pushing for — above all a big firewall to prevent contagion along with properly capitalised banks.”